disneyfandomcom-20200223-history
Five Bear Rugs
|designer = Marc Davis |occupation = House band |personality = Musical, wild, enthusiastic |friends = The other Country Bears, Mickey Mouse & Friends, Beary Barrington |likes = Singing, playing music, dancing, performing, hoedowns, celebrations, camping, wild and wooly fun |home = Frontierland (Walt Disney World) Bear Country/Critter Country (Disneyland) Westernland (Tokyo Disneyland) Country Bear Hall (movie) |enemies = Reed Thimple}}The Five Bear Rugs are the house band in the Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree. They perform on a platform in the theater's main stage. The members of the band include: *'Zeke', who plays the banjo while tapping a dishpan with his foot *'Zeb', who plays the fiddle *'Ted', who blows a corn jug and sometimes plays a washboard *'Fred', who plays a mouth harp (a harmonica) *'Tennessee', who plays "The Thing" (an upright bass with only one string and a tiny bird sitting on it) Oscar, Zeb's son, sits quietly on the right-hand side of the band's platform, clutching and squeezing his teddy bear. Zeb, Ted, Fred and Tennessee also appear in the 2002 feature film based on the attraction, where the band is simply called the Country Bears. Zeke is used as the name of the band's tour bus. Background Biography From 1972's Country Bear Jamboree record album: The Five Bear Rugs began playing music together when they were in first grade. Fifteen years later they were still playing—in fourth grade! Zeke plays the banjo and wears glasses—he’s the only one who can read music. Fred plays the mouth harp and carries the tune (his wife says Fred is lazy, and a tune is the only thing he carries). Ted blows the white lightning jug, and Tennessee plays the one-stringed thing (he hopes one day to add more strings). Zeb plays fiddle, and Zeb’s son Oscar accompanies his father on concert tours because Zeb’s wife works (she models fur coats—always the same one—at a nearby boutique). Appearances ''The Country Bears The Country Bears, the film's equivalent to the Five Bear Rugs, were originally construction workers that sang together during lunch breaks. Their foreman Henry noticed their talent and the band was established in 1974 to massive success, spawning hit albums, a cartoon, and, anachronistically, the Disney theme park attraction itself. During the span of their career together, the band produced five albums. * "The Album What That's Our First" * "This Here's the Untitled Album" * "Give Us Paws" * "To the Last Drop Water Tower" * "Straight Outta Pendleton" After the massive failure of their attempt at entering the hip-hop scene with "Straight Outta Pendleton" and years of clashing egos, the band broke up and went their separate ways in 1991. About a decade later, young fan Beary Barrington would rally them back together for a benefit concert to save Country Bear Hall. Trivia *According to early concepts for the attraction, including concept art and an early Bear Band Serenade demo, Zeke was originally envisioned as a percussionist playing cymbals, drums and cowbells. *Tennessee was initially going to be called '''Lemonade. '''The opening verse of the song, according to the aforementioned demo, would've been: ''The bear band bears are ready They're set to serenade Zeke and Zeb and Ted and Fred And a bear named Lemonade When the verse was changed to: The bear band bears will play now In the good ol' key of G Zeke and Zeb and Ted and Fred And a bear named Tennessee He was renamed Tennessee so it would rhyme with "G". * Zeke's singing voice from 1975 onward was modeled after country singer and banjo player Grandpa Jones. Gallery CountryBearJamboree Poster.png CountryBearJamboreeBears.jpg cbj_bearband1974ww.jpg Bearcountrychristmas1.jpg 11401V-800.jpg 4562298-14335669-thumbnail.jpg|Concept art of the band. WDW32502020Country20Bear20Band.jpg country bear 2.jpg attraction-rewind-country-bear-christmas-special-feat-1_1.jpg STK683483.jpg Tigger Movie Country Bears.jpg|Cameo in The Tigger Movie. Category:Bears Category:Males Category:Character groups Category:Singing characters Category:Theme park characters Category:Musicians Category:Bands Category:Country Bear characters Category:Anthropomorphic characters Category:Disney characters Category:Spell Cards characters